Vikings top D-B; playoffs start Tuesday
Minneota capped an undefeated regular season in a steady drizzle, topping Dawson-Boyd 29-6 Wednesday night at K.P. Kompelien Field.
The Vikings (8-0) earned the No. 1 seed in the Section 5A tournament that begins on Tuesday. Minneota will host No. 8 seed Yellow Medicine East on Tuesday night.
AJ Josephson ran for two touchdowns and Anthony Rybinski ran for one TD and caught a pass for another to account for the Vikings' scores.
The Vikings' starting defense remain unscored upon this season. Minneota opponents scored only 12 points all season; six came against the reserves in the second game of the season and the Blackjacks' touchdown in this game came on a "pick-six" by Holt Larson in the third quarter.
Dawson-Boyd finished with only six total yards from scrimmage and only one first down. Minneota amassed 330 total yards.
Minneota opened the scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run by Josephson that capped a four-play, 60-yard drive. During that drive, Josephson also had a 14-yard run and Jonah Gruenes scampered for 28 yards on another run.
The Vikings then blocked a punt and recovered the ball at the Dawson-Boyd 22. On the ensuing play, Isaac Pohlen connected with Rybinski for a 22-yard scoring strike for a 15-0 lead in the opening quarter.
The Vikings scored again in the second quarter following a lengthy 10-play, 79-yard drive when Josephson rumbled in from two yards out. Josephson carried five times for 45 yards in that drive.
The Blackjacks got on the board in the third quarter when Larson stepped in front of a Vikings' receiver and intercepted a pass, then ran untouched into the end zone.
Minneota's final score came in the fourth quarter when Rybinski took a handoff and raced around right end for a 26-yard touchdown.
Josephson finished with 129 yard in 22 carries. Grunes had 72 yard in eight carries, Conner Sik had 67 yards in 13 carries, and Rybinski gained 42 yards in three totes.
Sik, Scholten and Landon DeSmet each had a sack for Minneota. Gruenes led the team with eight total tackles.
Minneota 29, Dawson-Boyd 6
Dawson-Boyd............................................ 0 0 6 0 - 6
Minneota..................................................15 7 0 7 - 29
Scoring Plays
Min - AJ Josephson 19 run (Peyton Gillund kick)
Min - Anthony Rybinski 22 pass from Isaac Pohlen (run good)
Min - Josephson 8 run (Gillund kick)
DB - Holt Larson 19 interception return (pass failed)
Min - Anthony Rybinski 22 run (Gillund kick)
Team Totals
Total Plays: Minneota 24, Dawson-Boyd 12. Total Yards: Minneota 330, Dawson-Boyd 6. Passing Yards: Minneota 28, Dawson-Boyd 18. Rushing Yards: Minneota 302, Dawson-Boyd (-12). First Downs: Minneota 8, Dawson-Boyd 1. Turnovers: Minneota 1, Dawson-Boyd 1.
Minneota Statistics
RUSHING (att-yds): AJ Josephson 22-129, Jonah Gruenes 8-72, Conner Sik 13-67, Anthony Rybinski 3-42, Andrew Lipinski 1-0, Isaac Pohlen 2-(-3).
PASSING (com-att-yds-td-int): Isaac Pohlen 2-6-28-1-2
RECEIVING (rec-yds): A.Rybinski 1-22, Sawyer DeSmet 1-6
TACKLES (solo-assisted): Gruenes 6-2, Sik 3-0, Alex DePestel 2-0, Tucker Thooft 2-0, Ryan Meagher 2-0, Josephson 1-1, Zack Fier 1-2, Peyton Gillund 1-1, Hudson Scholten 1-1, Cale Sorensen 1-0, Landon DeSmet 1-0, Jack Lacek 1-0, T.Schmidt 1-0, A.Rybinski 0-1, Jayden Gamrak 0-2, Jackson Esping 0-1, Max Rost 0-1.
SACKS: Sik 1, Scholten 1, L.DeSmet 1
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Gruenes 1, Sik 1, DePestel 1, Scholten 1, Sorensen 1, L.DeSmet 1
INTERCEPTIONS: Sorensen 1
PUNTING (no-avg.): Gillund 3-27.0